Picture this: You’re making ramen at home, feeling clever, and suddenly—no green onions anywhere. Not in the fridge, not at the store, not lurking behind the mystery jar in your crisper. And you’re not alone. By the end of 2024, chefs, foodservice buyers, and casual home cooks all started asking the same question: What on earth happened to green onions?
Let’s slice through the confusion. This shortage isn’t just another “supply chain thing.” It’s a blend of wild weather, shipping headaches, and worker shortages. And yes, it’s been spicier than the onions themselves.
Why Green Onions Actually Matter
It’s not just garnish—that brilliant, punchy crunch on your tacos and stir fry is a food world staple. These onions (also called scallions or spring onions, depending where you’re shopping) deliver the boost that makes food pop. You can stir-fry them, toss them on noodles, or let them brighten up your bagel.
But here’s the twist—the entire $1.5 billion green onion supply doesn’t come from thin air. They’re fussy, perishable, and everyone wants them at once.
How It Works: Seeds, Sweat, and Hope
Growing green onions might sound simple. Spoiler: it’s not. They’re planted, hand-harvested, washed, sorted, trimmed, iced, and instantly shipped. Miss a step—or a week’s worth of workers—and your onions head straight for compost.
Crops need steady weather: not too hot, not too wet, not too cold. Seems basic, right? But in 2024, Mother Nature had other plans.
The Weather Wild Card
Here’s what the headlines didn’t tell you. Green onions in key regions got clobbered by bad luck: droughts, sudden temperature drops, and drenching rain—sometimes all in a month.
Too little water? Stunted, sad onions. Too much rain? Rot and fungal surprises. And temperatures swinging 30 degrees in a day? Plants barely stand a chance. These aren’t “just bad years.” They’re the kind of cycles farmers dread. It’s hard to plan when the growing calendar’s shredded by storms.
In Mexico, top exporter of green onions to the U.S., March and April—peak harvest season—came with relentless rains and a muddy, slippery mess. Onions don’t like wet feet. Crops shrank, and so did exports.
In Australia, growers battled storms and soggy fields, cutting the spring onion supply just as restaurant demand shot up. Farmers told trade papers: “Hope it dries out soon.” That’s optimism, farm-style.
Supply Chain Whiplash
Let’s not blame the weather gods alone. The COVID-19 ripples haven’t fully faded. Shipping costs—once background noise—became headline material. Delays at ports, backed-up trucks at the border, and container shortages made “just in time” delivery into “just late…again.”
Geopolitical tensions didn’t help. When ships stacked up or routes shifted, perishable goods like green onions bore the brunt. Unlike grain or canned tomatoes, scallions don’t have time to linger at sea.
If you think, “Well, just grow them closer to home,” you’re not alone. But onions need exactly the right conditions, which is why supermarkets rely so much on imports, especially in cooler months.
Labor Shortages: The Unseen Culprit
Labor isn’t the sexiest supply chain story, but it’s the sneakiest. Green onions are classic “hand-harvest” crops. Machines just don’t have the finesse—or patience.
Finding enough pickers has been tough for years, but 2024 made it next-level tricky. Hundreds of farms in Mexico and the U.S. simply couldn’t fill all their harvest crews. Holy Week, a major holiday in Mexico, meant even fewer hands. Toss in pandemic fallout, tighter migration rules, and better jobs in the cities—suddenly there’s produce wilting before it’s packed.
Then there’s packing and processing. Some plants limped along at half strength, either from worker shortages or rushed training. If you don’t have skilled hands at every step, onions get bruised, mis-sorted, or just left in the field.
Regional Realities: A Tale of Three Markets
Let’s take a world tour—by way of your produce aisle.
In Mexico, green onions are a year-round staple crop, mainly sent north to the U.S. When everything clicks—good weather, stable labor—supply is strong. But in late 2024, harvest windows shrank due to muddy, rain-soaked fields. The problem peaked around major holidays, when farm labor dips. Even when fields dried, the harvest couldn’t fully catch up.
Australian growers, fresh off unseasonable rains, found their supplies chopped as fast as they grew. Restaurants and supermarkets struggled to stay stocked. Some smart grocers moved to pre-book contracts, but many buyers simply had to take what they got—when they got it.
Now, swing over to the U.S. By June 2025, market watchers began to breathe again. Reports out of California said supply had finally steadied. Quality was up, prices were coming down, and—for a minute—menus ditched the asterisks that warned of onion “substitutions.”
But the story’s not over regionally. A dry spell or labor hiccup can still tighten things up overnight. For national chains buying by the ton, the fragility of the system is constantly in the rearview.
Why Prices Went Nuts
Let’s talk money. When green onions are short, prices spike—fast. Wholesalers saw per-case prices jump 40% in some markets in early 2025. Some retail shelves hit $3.50 a bundle, up from the usual $1.99, if shoppers could find them at all.
Here’s the big secret: Green onions are a small cost per dish, but a huge flavor lever. When prices soar, restaurant operations get creative—scaling back menu items, chopping serving sizes, or switching to alternatives like chives or leeks. Not the same, but desperate times, etc.
Wholesale buyers felt the pinch first. Even major fast-casual chains faced tough calls: pay a premium, pull menu faves, or risk unhappy customers and limp reviews.
Restaurant Workarounds and What’s in Your Takeout
Have you noticed your stir-fry looks less festive? Not your imagination. Chefs started using chopped chives or red onions to keep plates pretty. Some swapped in parsley—no flavor match, but it’s green.
Others played the “limited-time only” card, warning regulars of supply hiccups. Savvy places wrote contingency plans after 2020’s romaine shortage. Still, for any cuisine relying on scallions (think Korean BBQ, ramen shops, or taquerias), this shortage squeezed profit and creativity alike.
Improvement Trends: Room to Breathe?
Here’s some genuine good news for guacamole lovers: By mid-2025, U.S. supply had bounced back. Growers in Mexico caught a break with drier weather and labor levels slowly returning. Prices calmed, shelves filled out, and home cooks eased up on panic buys.
Even Australia, though still battling rainy surprises, reported better spring onion prospects for the back half of the year. The worst of the storm cycle was over—at least for now.
But let’s not throw a green-onion-themed parade just yet. Each region faces its own “what if” scenarios. Another labor crunch? A surprise frost or heatwave? Shoppers could see empty spots or another price spike. And for global chains with tight margins, a two-week disruption in one growing region can ripple all the way across their menus.
The Magic Table (a.k.a. Why This Keeps Happening)
Every player—grower, shipper, chef, and you, the brunch enthusiast—wants to know what’s behind the volatility. Here’s the quick cheat sheet:
| Cause | Description | Effect on Market |
|---|---|---|
| Unpredictable weather | Drought, floods, frost, overcast spring | Short crops, patchy supply |
| Labor shortages | Not enough skilled farm or packing hands | Slow harvest, less processed produce |
| Supply chain disruptions | Pandemic aftershocks, trade delays, shipping chaos | Late shipments, pricier imports |
| Seasonality & holiday labor gaps | Certain times—like Holy Week or winter—hit extra hard | Bumpy supply, price jumps |
| Surging demand | Restaurants bouncing back—everyone wants fresh, fast | Faster sellouts, higher prices |
Main Takeaways—and a Heads-Up
So, why should you care? Because the story isn’t over. Green onions are a snapshot of what happens when labor, logistics, and weather all turn unpredictable.
We’ve learned this—produce isn’t just a background cost, it’s the early-warning system for bigger economic shifts. The next time your favorite taco truck runs out of scallions, think of the chain (and the field hands) it took to get them there.
If you’re running a business or planning menus, here’s your play: Don’t wait for the next surprise. Build flexibility into your menu, source from multiple regions, and keep your supply partners close.
And if you want deeper trends or a pulse on what’s coming next, bookmark Front Business Mag. They’re tracking everything from labor surges to supply chain reboots—and yes, the next green onion curveball.
Keep your eyes peeled at the produce aisle—green onions may be back, but their story is far from predictable. Inflation, labor, and climate still have their hands on the throttle. For now? Grab that bunch when you see it; your noodle bowl will thank you.
That’s it—no alerts, no panic, just a real look at why your shopping cart looks a little different this year. Now, go conquer that stir-fry.
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